new video loaded: The Anti-Federalists Saw It Coming
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The Anti-Federalists Saw It Coming
In this episode of “The Opinions,” David French breaks down why parts of the original Constitution lend themselves to abuse — and which three amendments could stop another shutdown like this one. “But first,” he says, “we have to get through this moment.”
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I think there are some lessons we have learned about the original 1787 Constitution that just lend themselves to abuse. And the anti-Federalists spotted this coming from miles away. So, for example, the pardon power. The pardon power is a republic-destabilizing vestige of monarchy that needs to be fundamentally reformed. That’s one. Here’s another one: The first sentence of Article 2 is, as George Clinton wrote, as Cato, an anti-Federalist, “vague and inexplicit.” And that lends itself to lots of mischief. Can I interrupt real quick? When you said George Clinton, I was like: Is he about to quote Parliament-Funkadelic? -And then I was like —— -Of course. Normally, I would. He’s thinking New York, New York, New York lawmaker George Clinton in the —— -Yeah, OK. -Yeah, not Parliament-Funkadelic. Yes, but so there are — here’s another one that I think is an important idea. Expand the House. So I think there’s a number of ideas of reform that are floating around out there that can help prevent this situation from happening again. But we have to get through this moment.
By ‘The Opinions’
November 3, 2025
